STAYING IN TOUCH: JACQUELYN ODURO
May is National Vision Health Month in Canada, a good time to highlight the critical role of eye safety in heavy construction. Every year, thousands of Canadian workers suffer eye injuries that could have been prevented with the proper use of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE). Dust, flying debris, chemicals, and UV exposure are part of the heavy construction environment.
Protect your vision:
- Regular PPE inspections by workers to ensure eye wear is not scratched, cloudy, or broken.
- Review fitting, care, and use of eye PPE with workers to ensure it is being used and maintained correctly. Specialized eye PPE may be required for specialized tasks.
- Review the safe work practice and procedure for any task with risk of eye injury to see if eye protection is required and what type. This can include tasks such as grinding, cutting, sawing, chemical mixing, welding, etc.
- When working outdoors in sunny conditions for prolonged periods wear eye protection with UV light protection to reduce exposure and eye strain.
The vast majority of workplace eye injuries are preventable with the correct use of CSA-approved eye protection.
Take the time to review your eye protection requirements with workers to keep your eyes and vision safe.
